EDISON, NJ—It’s not too late to sign up for the next Sheriff’s Civilian Academy, being held this fall by the MIddlesex County Sheriff’s Department to educate residents on the various functions and duties of their office.

Applications to participate in the free program are due by August 12.  To be eligible, one must be a resident of Middlesex County, at least 18 years old, and pass a limited background check.

Starting on Wednesday, September 14 at 7pm, the classes will continue every Wednesday for eight weeks at the police training center in Edison.

The program hopes to inform residents of what the sheriff’s office is responsible for in the community and to empower residents to utilize this information.

Each week the class will cover a different function or duty that the sheriff’s office is responsible for, and culminates with a graduation ceremony scheduled for October 26.

Some of the duties of the Sheriff’s office that will be covered in the program are:

  • Proper defensive tactics
  • The K-9 Unit
  • Transporting criminals
  • SWAT teams
  • Dealing with courts
  • The “civil process”
  • Managing foreclosures and resulting auctions

Participants will also tour the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office and the Main Courthouse located in New Brunswick.

Sheriff Mildred Scott said, “The Sheriff’s Civilian Academy is a wonderful way for us to reach out to the residents of Middlesex County. It is part of our mission to protect and serve the public. Our goal is to give Academy participants a better understanding of the role of the Sheriff’s Office that they can take back into their communities.”

If you have any questions about the program or would like to apply, you can call Sheriff’s Officer Frank Sautner at 732-745-5909, or email him at [email protected].

However, Sheriff  Scott and Officer Sautner did not respond to multiple emails and phone calls in regards to this article.

Scott and Sautner did not respond to inquiries about how many people applied, were accepted, attended, and graduated from the Sheriff’s previous academy, which was held in April and May.